Nigel Clough sacked by Derby County

There was a pouring of outrage, shock, confusion and relief last night as news emerged that Nigel Clough had been sacked as Derby County manager. Judging by the majority of tweets and phone calls however - along with the thoughts of people such as Robbie Savage - anger and upset edge out happy and excited in the emotion stakes. But why?

Brian Clough’s departure was the worst moment in Derby County’s history. Clough snr’s work put Derby on the map. Sacking his son amounts to sacrilege in the eyes of supporters who had to witness a messy and heartbreaking divorce the first time round. “You should never sack a Clough” is something i’ve heard many fans say. The difference is though, when Sam Longson and the Derby County board of directors made Brian’s position untenable in 1973, Derby were deprived of the European Cup’s Nottingham Forest later went on to win. When Sam Rush phoned Nigel Clough last night (poor form if true) to sack him, he deprived the Derby County fans of...another mid-table finish in the Championship and another season of infuriating fluctuations in form. That’s the truth.

Despite his legendary status at Forest, Nigel Clough is a Derby man and when he was appointed in January 2009, i’m pretty sure 99% of Derby fans wanted him to succeed, and the disappointing thing is that he didn't, at least not on the pitch anyway. Few managers will have the initial level of support in the stands that Nigel Clough was granted when he turned up almost 5 years ago. There should be no room for sentimentality in professional sport, but if a sentimental appointment comes off, it’s all the sweeter. I lost faith in Clough last season, but his sacking still hurt me a little bit because it would have been brilliant for Nigel to continue Brian’s legacy and take Derby into the Premier League. When you realise that isn’t going to happen though, you need to make hard decisions. It’s a bit like being in a relationship; if it’s not working, you have to let her/him go. “It’s not you, it’s me/if you love them, let them go/insert cliché here”

I mentioned Nigel Clough didn’t succeed on the pitch. Mid-table finishes were accomplished, but only after often intense flirting with relegation. Derby were never serious play-off contenders under Clough, despite promising starts to seasons. This is where the Clough fans make their point though. “Who else could have done better with no money?”. They have a point. Nigel did a superb job of cutting the wage bill, getting rid of the deadwood, and assembling a good, young squad by giving academy products a chance and buying some gems from the lower leagues. Would Will Hughes have played as much professional football under someone like Billy Davies? No. Would John Brayford be the Premier League star he is today if Nigel didn’t spot his potential (I jest, come back to Derby, John, you're brilliant!). Off the pitch, Nigel Clough did a superb job.

So, to answer the question posed by Clough supporters, no, perhaps no-one could have done better than Clough to get Derby where they are now. That’s when you have to ask the question “Who else could do better with this squad of players?” The answer to that, sadly, is plenty. His lack of man management skills and tactical nous saw Derby lose games that should have been won. Sitting back on a one goal lead with a defence as fragile as Derby’s is not the way to success. Openly criticising his players sits uncomfortably with me and cannot do anything for the player’s confidence. The point is, Nigel did a great job to set the foundations, but he took the club as far as he could. It’s now time for someone else to take this talented squad to the next level. I’m not going to go into candidates here.

The board are going to get a slating for this from pro-Clough supporters and casual fans and pundits. They haven’t given him millions to spend, but by no means have they flat-out denied him either. Decent money was spent on Conor Sammon, Richard Keogh, Jason Shackell, Johnny Russell and even Chris Maguire, to name a few. Attendances have dropped alarmingly, and as an owner of the club who relies on income from bums on seats, that’s a huge issue. Attendances were averaging around 28,000 on Clough’s arrival. This season they are around the 22,000 mark. It’s a problem that can’t, and hasn’t been ignored. The main issue I have is the timing of it. It’s given the Forest fans something else to brag about. Agent Clough and all that. Enough about them though.

It’s a sad moment, but the head needs to rule the heart in football, and on this occasion I believe it has done. So thank you Nigel. I, along with most Rams fans, am grateful for you clearing up the mess left by Paul Jewell and Billy Davies and giving us a great platform to build on, but it was time to move on. Best of luck in the future. It’s not you, it’s me...

Christ, this was a bit serious. Next time i’ll tell you about the time a Sun Care Adviser convinced me to uncharacteristically spend 19 Euros on some Aloe Vera aftersun!

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Clough out, McDermott in?!?

Many fans of football were surprised with the sacking of Brian McDermott earlier this week. Football is a results business, so it is perhaps no real surprise at all that he got sacked. However, considering what he achieved with Reading the decision is hard to take by many. He has become a victim of his own success, much like Nigel Adkins months prior. Such is McDermott’s stock however that unhappy fans of other clubs may start wishing for such an unemployed manager. Off the back of the McDermott sacking, a friend of mine tweeted “There’ll be a few in the Championship who speed up removing their manager”. Whilst I am not in any way suggesting the Derby board are looking to get rid of Nigel Clough, it is perhaps a fitting time to assess his standing at the club.

The Rams haven’t won in 8 games and have alarmingly gone from comfortably flirting with the top half of the table, to contemplating gate crashing the race to League 1 (Don’t do it!!). Somewhat more alarming is the manner in which things have transpired in recent weeks. Poor defensive displays continue to go hand in hand with shyness in front of goal, all with a threadbare squad (whilst Nathan Tyson, Theo Robinson and Tom Naylor are out on loan).  

Tactical decisions have been baffling. The decision to persist with Adam Legzdins in goal, despite his declining form in recent weeks is a strange one (although I am definitely not placing all the blame on him; that would be absurd and unfair). The idea of having two competitive goalkeepers though is that they push each other. Stephen Bywater’s form deteriorated towards the end of his Rams career because he had no serious threat to his Number 43 jersey in Saul Deeney. In Frank Fielding, Legzdins is up against a legitimate contender. A change in goalkeeper is perhaps now necessary, and that’s no slight on Legzdins as he has largely impressed during his 30 games stint. He will come back stronger from his experience – assuming that he is actually dropped any time soon. Michael Jacobs has recently found himself out in the cold. History suggests with Clough that once a player is out in the cold, he struggles to find true warmth again. Such warmth cannot be achieved by wearing a Slanket or a Onesie either.

If Clough ever has to write a CV, then he will not be able to include “Impressive away record with Derby County”. He has managed the Rams 104 times away from home in competitive action, with a return of 22 wins. Under Billy Davies in the promotion season, there were 12 away wins. Under George Burley in the 04/05 season, there were 12 away wins. Performances on the road this year have perhaps warranted more, but the results don’t lie. For some reason, Derby have been poor away from home under Clough. It wouldn’t be such an problem if they didn’t have to play 23 games away from Pride Park every season.

It is no secret that finances at Pride Park are tight. Clough’s biggest success at Derby - aside his successful knee to the back of Billy Davies’ leg - has been assembling a competitive, and potentially very good team with very little to play with, wonga wise. Many managers under such constraints may not have stuck around for as long as Clough. Remember Mark Hughes who walked away from Fulham believing they were not ambitious enough? He ended up at money bags QPR. Fine job he did there too... So it’s testament to Clough that he is even in a position to still be sacked.

However, whilst Derby are not the Bill Gates of the football world, they’re hardly the man stood outside Tesco’s every day trying to sell Big Issue’s either. The £1.2 million spent on Conor Sammon shows that money has been available. Sammon is a bit like Marmite, in the sense that most people don’t tend to like him. Judging him on goals alone, he has been an expensive failure. His game isn’t about scoring goals though, and it’s not his fault that the Rams spent an unusually large amount on a striker that doesn’t score goals. That fault lies with the manager.

What also lies with the manager is the annual decline in form. Derby’s seasons have an air of inevitability about them. The moment fans start to dream of a playoff push, form deteriorates and at best the season turns into a bit of a relegation battle, and at worst it turns into a nothing season. Zero excitement. Sadly, whenever Derby find themselves in the play-off places in November-January, it’s hard to enjoy because you just know it is unsustainable. Unlike Cardiff City who usually give their fans hope until late April before crashing and burning, Derby fans tend to know in early February that it’s another wasted season.

In Clough’s defence, the football Derby have played this year has generally been aesthetically pleasing, more so than previous seasons and under previous managers. He can spot a good player for a cheap price (he can also spot a striker that doesn’t score for £1.2 million, before you mention it!). He has given youth a chance and been rewarded, and as already mentioned, he’s working with at least one hand (metaphorically) tied behind his back when it comes to money. Clough is a Derby man. He cares about the club and another disappointing season will undoubtedly annoy him as much as it does the paying punter.

However, things are going stale and attendances are going down quicker than Gareth Bale in the box. Increased season ticket prices don’t help, but a football city such as Derby would undoubtedly attract 28,000+ regularly if there was a reason to believe better things were to come. Would a manager like Brian McDermott with an impressive track record be able to improve things? Or would he be stifled be financial constraints and prove Clough to be a better manager than his track record suggests?

Football super fan Albert Einstein once described insanity as “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”. The same thing is happening over and over again at Derby, with the same results. For anything to change, does there need to be a change in management? With good managers in the market, many Derby fans may now believe the answer to that question to be “yes”.